Title: BLOOD
ROAD
Author: Amanda McCrina
Pub. Date: April 25, 2017
Publisher: Month9Books
Format: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 329
Nineteen-year-old Torien Risto has seen
dissidents dealt with before. He knows the young local girl who just knifed him
will hang for assaulting an Imperial officer, unless he can stop it.
Someone inside the provincial government
is kidnapping Imperial citizens and selling them across the desert to the salt
mines, silencing anyone who tries to intervene. The girl’s brother is one of
those who has been taken. Rejected by the corrupt courts, she’s waging a
personal war against the Empire.
Determined to save her life, Torien sets
out in search of answers on the Salt Road, the ancient trade route running deep
into the heart of a desert—territory claimed by the hostile Mayaso tribe.
Now, Torien is no longer sure where his
own loyalty lies, or how far he will go to break the cycle of tyranny,
political bullying, and social injustice in an empire that seals its borders in
blood.
About Amanda:
Amanda McCrina has studied in Italy,
taught English in Japan, and currently tutors Latin in Atlanta, Georgia. She
received her BA in History from the University of West Georgia, and is now
pursuing her MA. She writes stories that incorporate her love of history, languages,
and world travel. She drinks far too much coffee and dreams of one day having a
winning fantasy-hockey season.
Follow Her Here:
Read an Excerpt!
He took the horse off the street into a smith’s shop. Ædyn tagged at
his heels like a shadow. The shop was open-faced to catch the breeze off the
water, but there were coals smoldering on the wide, open hearth, the heat
curling off the hearthstones and hanging heavy on the air under the leather
awning. The smith was bare-chested at his anvil. He saw Torien across the anvil
and put his hammer down and wiped his dripping face with the back of one hand.
He pulled his tunic over his head as he came over to the doorway. He bowed, but
he was looking at the black horse. “You will want him shod, Lord, if you mean
to use him in the city.”
“He won’t be long for the city. I came for this.” Torien reached with his
free hand for the lead tag hung on the collar around Ædyn’s neck. He indicated
it to the smith, running his thumb over the name etched on the face of the tag.
“It can be amended?”
“It is a simple thing, Lord.”
“My name is Risto. I want it to read thus.”
“For a bronze, Lord.”
He explained to Ædyn, in Cesino, “For your protection, until I can file
your manumission.”
The boy looked as though he had been struck across the face. His skin
was pale under the tan. “My lord is the governor’s son.”
“My mother told him so, anyway. Listen to me, Ædyn. I’ve business in
the city. I shouldn’t be long—an hour, maybe two. I’ll be back for you here.”
The boy did not say anything. He was standing as rigid as death at the
horse’s shoulder.
Torien put two bronze pieces into Ædyn’s hand and closed the boy’s
fingers over them. “Buy yourself something to eat,” he said. “Don’t stray too
far. These streets can be rough.”
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